Mark Dharmaratnam grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and comes from a musical family. He started his musical studies at the age of twelve and went on to complete a Bachelors Degree in Music Education from the University of Western Ontario and a Masters Degree in Trumpet Performance from Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois. Mr. Dharmaratnam studied with Robert Grim, Erik Schultz, Vincent Cichowicz and Adolph Herseth. He has been a member of the Great Lakes Brass Quintet and Symphony Nova Scotia.
Currently, Mr. Dharmaratnam holds a position with the National Ballet of Canada Orchestra and has worked as an extra trumpet player with many Canadian orchestras including the Kitchener-Waterloo Symphony, McGill Chamber Orchestra, Orchestre Symphonique de Quebec, Orchestre Metropolitain, I Musici de Montreal, the Canadian Opera Company, the Montreal Symphony Orchestra and the National Arts Centre Orchestra. He has performed on tour in Korea, western Europe, England, Ireland and Scotland, the USA, Colombia and all across Canada.
Mr. Dharmaratnam has extensive experience both playing in and conducting wind bands in addition to directing the Orchestre Synphonique de Pop Montreal for five years. He was a member of the Northwestern University Wind Ensemble under John P. Paynter and the Westin Silver Band under Morley Calvert. As a performer, conductor and adjudicator, Mr. Dharmaratnam has been involved in wind band music throughout Ontario, Quebec and Nova Scotia.